Modern Thai’s Crave-Worthy Chow

“I woke up this morning with a major craving for this dish,” says Cynsa of Modern Thai’s chopped preserved Chinese olives on rice with ground chicken.

Other picks: The deep-fried papaya salad is a tasty, crisp confetti of papaya, cabbage, carrots, purple beans, and peanuts with tomatoes on romaine. A silky curry of roast duck with lychee, cherry tomatoes, and fried basil leaves is rich in flavor. And the fried pumpkin appetizer and som tum (green papaya salad, unfried) are flat-out delicious, says rccola.

There’s no comparing Modern Thai with the straight-outta-Thailand deliciousness of Lers Ros Thai, Cynsa says, but it’s worth it on its own terms—for that crispy salad and the rice with olives, for example. With its neon colonial decor, it’s “a ‘safe’ destination when you have non-foodies in tow—to start with the ubiquitous coconut shrimp appetizer that I observed on several tables nearby,” she observes. Still, only the brave should request their food to be “Thai spicy.”